Secrets Revealed
by xXCOMMANDERXx
Summary: What if, after years of successful hammering-down, Barney's past finally caught up to him?
1. Chapter 1

It was an evening like any other. The five of us were at McLauren's, drinking beer, laughing, talking, discussing Robin's morning show... Yeah, that was it. _Discussing._

"Oh, oh, I've got another one- so, all this fan mail that you get, do they have to x-ray it for weapons the inmates might have hidden inside?"

The group erupted with laughter, and Robin promptly punched Barney in the shoulder, causing him to cringe and pout.

And so the night wore on- Barney was suavely chatting up Large-Breasted Brunette by the bar, leaning in closer and closer as they conversed.

Lily, Marshall, and Robin were having a heated debate concerning comedic commercials, which to this day I still like to bring up if I sense they are about to go off at me. Works like a dream.

And me? Well, I was lazily sipping my beer, leaned back in my seat, eyes on the door, glancing over newcomers; it may sound creepy, but you have no idea what boredom will do to you... Anyway, thanks to _that _little detail, _I _was the first to spot him- the man who would enlighten us. The man who would show us secrets buried for years. Secrets a certain someone had been working very hard indeed to cover up. That being said, he wasn't exactly what you would expect to come with that- he looked like your average kind of guy, I guess. Well, not _quite _average- he was... how can I put this so I don't sound like a jerk... moist. Yeah. Beads, no, _streams _of moisture rolled down his face, his neck, his shirt, and I didn't even want to _think _about what else.

He looked, frankly, miserable. Painfully aware of all the stares he was receiving, he made his way slowly towards the bar. I was surprised he could even walk, you know, without sliding all over the place.

Okay, _now _I sound like a jerk.

At the same time this guy sat down at the bar, Barney came and sat down next to us.

"Dude, what's this? Did a girl say _no _to Barney Stinson?" I inquired, voice full of mock amazement. Marshall, Lily, and Robin chuckled- apparently, Robin had won. For now.

"No," Barney shot back indignantly, "of course not! I just had another 'oh' moment..."

"What was it this time?" Marshall asked skeptically, eyebrow raised.

"She talks to God."

We exchanged confused glances- Barney had slept with religious people before... Wait no, no, the point there was- so what if she was religious, she's still a human being! Yeah, _that's _what we thought.

Barney seemed to have noticed our confusion.

"No, I mean she _actually _talks to God," he corrected, pointing at Large-Breasted Brunette, who was, to all the world, having an animated conversation with the ceiling.

"Oh..." we all chorused.

"Yeah."

I shook my head- Barney really _was_ one of a kind. We kind of fell silent after that, so, for lack of a better topic idea, I said the first thing that came to mind.

"Hey, did you guys see that dude who just came in here? You know, the 'wet' one?"

Barney couldn't suppress a giggle, and earned a glare from me.

"Poor guy..." Lily speculated, looking at the man sitting at the bar, trying his best not to let the glass slip out of his hand. The expression on Lily's face was similar to the one I had seen when that kid in her class walked out of the bathroom, missing certain articles of clothing, and several of his classmates fell off their chairs from laughter. Huh. Now that I think about it, I've seen that look quite often. She looks at _me _like that! Nah, I must be imagining it.

Anyway, now our whole group's attention was on this guy. But then something weird happened; as Barney turned in his seat to get a good look-and-mock, his expression changed completely. Gone was the teasing spark, the almost 'evil' smile, and the scathing remark that was to soon leave his mouth, to be replaced with a mixture of horror, surprise, and disbelief. We all frowned at Barney- we had only seen that look once before, when he had talked about Shannon.

Barney's mouth dropped open, and he seemed frozen. Then, just as were about to ask who the _hell _this guy was, the 'wet' man turned and looked right at us. Or, rather, right at Barney.

"Doc!"

* * *

**Hey everyone! This is my first HIMYM fic, ****_as well as _****my first crossover, so be gentle okay? Please review, it really helps! Suggestions for the plot welcome too! Enjoy!**


	2. Chapter 2

As the dripping man made his way towards our table and sat down, a thousand different explanations ran through my head, and every single one got cancelled out. One night stand's boyfriend? No, too actually _happy_ to see him. Old friend? Didn't exactly look like the type. Family? Hardly.

"Doc, I don't believe it! I've found you!" The man had a grin that stretched from ear to ear, and went to give Barney- wait for it- a _hug, _but looked at his wet hands and seemed to think better of it.

Barney was staring a hole right though him, and yet seemed to be somewhere else entirely, eyes unfocused. Finally, he spoke.

"Hey, Moist. How are you?" His voice broke slightly, causing my eyebrows to rise higher still. Moist? Fitting, if a little cruel.

"Meh, you know. It's been kinda slow without 'ya- after you disappeared the League sort of... clicked pause."

Barney nodded slowly, the same distant look still etched onto his features.

"Hey, do you wanna introduce us to your... friend, huh Barney?" Marshall put in, eyeing the man in the suit.

"What? Oh, um, this is Moist. Moist; Ted, Marshall, Robin, and Lily," Barney answered, gesturing to each of us in turn. We nodded, more that a little awkwardly. Moist smiled- he had one of those contagious smiles, that was slightly lopsided and took up almost half of his face.

Barney was still sort of not-there, so I decided to give a little time to compose himself- for whatever reasons- and attempted to strike up a conversation with... What was his name? Oh, right.

"So, _Moist, _you been in New York long?"

"Na, just a few weeks- actually I came here looking for the Doc," he gestured to Barney, "but I guess it's mission accomplished!" He gave a slight chuckle, and I smiled good naturally, although I wasn't quite sure what about. And what was up with this 'Doc' thing? Barney wasn't a doctor, he was... er... actually, he _could_ have been a doctor for all _I_ knew.

"Why were you looking for Barney?" This time it was Lily who spoke.

"Who's Barney?"

We exchanged confused glances, desperately trying- and miserably failing- to understand what was going on here. Moist opened his mouth to answer, but before he could Barney interrupted. His brows had knitted together to form a frown, and he now seemed guarded and on-edge.

"Uh, Moist, I think you've seen enough. Come on, we can talk privately." Somehow this didn't sound like an offer, and felt closer to a _command, _but Moist followed the blonde man instantaneously, almost as if it were a mundane, regular thing.

The two walked out of the bar, ignoring the strange looks thrown their way. After a few seconds, I couldn't stand the silence any longer.

"Guys, what was that?!"

"I don't know," Marshall hissed back, "I've never seen that dude before in my life!"

"Me neither..."

"Nope!" Lily and Robin added.

"But that was so weird..." I commented. "Did you see the look on Barney's face? It was like... actually, I've never seen that look before."

And that scared me.


	3. Chapter 3

Two hours later, the four of us made our way up to the apartment, still trying to figure out what had really just transpired. Unsuccessfully, may I add.

I unlocked the door, slamming it open against the wall in frustration, and walked into the room; only to find Moist, on the couch, helping himself to what I think was supposed to be dinner, but I couldn't quite make it out underneath the thick layer of... well... moisture.

"Hey guys!" He greeted, standing up. He looked nervous, blinking rapidly and fidgeting with his shirt collar. I was briefly worried, but curiosity quickly overcame fear.

"What's up?" I asked, sitting down on the couch next to Moist, who had just plonked back down. But not too close, mind you; I know, I know, a little cruel. Moving on.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Marshall added, slowly positioning himself on the armchair.

"It's Doc- he won't listen to me..."

And again, this infuriatingly frustrating 'Doc' thing!

"Uh, sweetie, who's Doc?" Lily inquired after her and Robin were seated, her tone similar to the one she used on her students; soothing and maternal.

Moist frowned, looking at us as if we'd gone mad. Which, now that I think about it, might have been plausible.

"You know, the guy you sat next to only... a few hours ago, at the bar?"

"Moist, I think you might have 'found' the wrong person-" I offered, after a few moments of confused silence, "_that _was Barney Stinson, and he is in _no _way a doctor. The only time it's ever come even _close _to that is when he said to us 'I have a PhD in Awesomeness'."

For reasons I _still _don't know, the last part of my sentence caused a goofy grin to spread across Moist's face, lighting up his features. But he soon recovered, replacing it with the frown again.

"No," he insisted, "that was _definitely _him... I'd recognize him anywhere." His tone was so truthful, so _loyal_, so almost _caring, _that my curiosity just got dialed further up still.

"Alright then, prove it." Robin inserted, having spoken for the first time. Moist looked at her a little nervously, but then it seemed like he had gotten an idea, for he was at the table with my laptop on it in a matter of moments. He opened it, after several failed attempts, causing me to wince slightly. I mean come on, who wants a slimy keyboard? But, I restrained myself from saying anything. If we found out anything new or interesting about the secretive enigma that was Barney Stinson, it was worth it.

Moist was typing away, surprisingly well for his... condition. Finally it seemed like he had found it- whatever _it _was- and smiled in self satisfaction. He tilted the monitor slightly upwards, beckoning for us to come closer.

We did, and here's what we saw- _Barney_, sitting in front of a camera, wearing a ridiculously huge white lab-coat, matching gloves, and the largest pair of goggles I had ever seen in my life. In the background was what looked like a lab, with innumerable tubes, beakers, vials, and chemicals. After a few seconds I noticed it was actually a video, and at exactly the same moment Moist hit 'play'. We watched.

And watched.

And watched.

We watched _every single_ 'entry', and then we _re_-watched them. I didn't know wether to be scared, amused, disgusted, or amazed. It was just so... strange. So strange, in fact, that I didn't buy it. Maybe this guy was Barney's doppelgänger? They were so much alike; the same speech patterns, the same sly grins, the same elaborate, scheming personalities, and yet they were so _different_; the suave, suit-wearing ladies man, and the shy guy in a hoodie who would wait six months to even _approach _a girl. Doctor Horrible was off-the-charts intelligent, and Barney was... actually, I wasn't sure how smart exactly Barney was. It had been proved many times that he was 'above average', but how _far _above? Surely not _this _far...

This 'Doctor's' story was so tragic, so _horrible, _that I couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for him, whoever he may be. To be so close, then have everything ripped out from under you... Although he _did _take over the city, what was the price? Not to mention the countless beatings he must have received from this 'Hammer' guy- seriously, what was up with that? Some hero.

But I still wasn't completely convinced. Sure, this _did _answer a lot of questions about Barney- why he seemed to understand things the rest of us didn't, how he was always the only one to follow Marshall's games, how his job seemed so shady and probably illegal, how he, even though he was in no way a cowardly person in any _other_ situations, always flinched away from a raised hand... But Barney, _our _Barney, an evil criminal genius?

Huh.

Well, _that_ didn't sound as ridiculous as I thought it would.

"So, convinced now?" Moist inquired, arms crossed. The four of us momentarily locked gazes, and came up with the answer.

"No."

Moist threw his arms into the air, grinning sheepishly as were sprayed with sweat.

"I'm sorry," Lily said, wiping her face, "but it's just impossible. This isn't Barney! Barney wears suits, lacks any... _emotion, _is- ugh, as much as a hate to admit it- a stallion with the ladies, and does impressive magic tricks... this 'Doctor Horrible' guy is none of the above!"

"But that's the thing, he _changed!"_ Moist insisted. "After Penny's death, he just... froze. Hardened." He looked down, sadness clear on his face. "I think that why he ran off to here, to get away from it all. And honestly, it looks like he did a pretty good job."

A silence fell over the room, and suddenly something occurred to me.

"Wait, if this is all true- which it _isn't- _and Barney tried so hard to cover this all up, why are you telling _us_?"

Moist looked back up. "Because, I came here to warn him. And seeing as _he_ wont listen, I thought his friends might." He frowned. "But I guess I was wrong." The shorter man walked slowly towards the door, stopping just before he could exit. He turned to face us, tilting his head to one side.

"You know, it was weird seeing him today so relaxed around other people. It's really _is _amazing that he's given his trust to you guys. You're pretty much the first. I just thought you should know that."

And just like that, he left.


	4. Chapter 4

The very next night, we gathered again at the bar, as per tradition. Barney joined us a little later, looking kind of strange. The suit, the face, the hair, the movements were the same, but the eyes... the eyes were empty. Distant.

He sat down just as a new waiter, Sam, who looked to be about eighteen-nineteen, approached our booth. Now, a few days earlier, Barney and this new kid had a _huge _argument, which almost ended in a fight; but _we_ intervened, so instead it didn't end at all. Now, whenever he took our orders, Sam tried to make Barney's life as miserable as possible.

Sam pulled out a small notepad and pen, smiling widely at us. We smiled awkwardly back- as horrible as this guy was to Barney, he still seemed like a nice kid. Sam then turned to the man in the suit, the smile morphing into a hate-filled, malicious grin. But before he could open his mouth to insult Barney, the blonde returned the look with a fierce, petrifying sneer, lips curling back to reveal sharp canines, gaze piercing and unwavering, eyes two chips of ice, narrowed and alarmingly feral. It was so unnerving, so actually _threatening, _that I physically flinched. I had _never _seen such an expression take over Barney's features, and I felt a chill run down my spine. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Marshall's quivering hand tightly clutching Lily's.

Sam's eyes widened in fear, and he paled to a striking white. Oblivious to the fact that he'd dropped the notepad, the kid scurried away and out the door, not looking back. Barney relaxed his posture, taking a sip from his scotch. He didn't seem to notice the stares we directing his way, nor the side glances from the bar-keep. The four of us exchanged worried looks, and launched into one of the most nerve-racking telepathic conversations ever.

_Ted: Guys, what if Moist was right? What if Barney really _is _Doctor Horrible? It would explain so much!_

_Lily: I know, I was thinking the same thing! _

_Robin: Okay, come on, this is madness! This must be some kind of huge scam- Barney's pulled plenty of those!_

_Marshall: No way, it all fits so perfectly! _

_Robin: Nope, not buying it._

_Ted: Okay, okay, I know what to do. We'll test and prove the theory- think back to everything we watched yesterday, and follow my lead._

"Hey Barney," I started, "there's this new girl at my firm- hot redhead, probably an eight, I thought you might like her. What was her na... oh, right- Penny."

Barney, who at the start had barely been paying attention, perked up at the mention of the name. His eyes sparked, and the corners of his mouth twitched upwards; but as quickly as it had come, the spark vanished, and the un-feeling mask was back in place. It was like Billy had clawed his way up for a moment, only to be pushed back down.

"Meh, sounds okay."

I scowled internally, carefully not to do so _ex_ternally.

Marshall pitched next.

"Hey, do you guys remember that outbreak of heroes and villains LA had a while back?"

Barney's eye twitched slightly, but that was it so far.

"Oh, yeah!" Robin added, "we were talking about that the other day at work- god, it must have been _heaven_ for news reporters there..."

"I _still _remember some of the details," Marshall continued, watching Barney closely. "The best was that Hammer guy, for sure-"

Twitch.

"-the way he always kicked that wimpy guy's ass... What was his name?"

Twitch.

"Doctor Horrible!" I offered, after making a big show of thinking hard. "Pft, some villain. Got bashed unconscious by the good guys _every _time."

Twitch.

"I don't know, he got pretty scary after that big thing with Captain Hammer... I hear Hammer's _still _in therapy!"

Twitch.

I paused a little bit before thinking up my next pitch- I knew this wasn't what had actually happened, and it was a pretty low blow to say what I was about to, but it had to be done.

"Huh. Actually, now that I think about it, you're right! He really stepped up after he murdered that woman... uh... what's-her-name. God, that really gives me the creeps. Wouldn't want to sit next to _that_ guy in a bar, right Barney! Barney?"

Barney had literally _frozen_- he wasn't moving, or blinking, or even _breathing. _After what seemed like hours, but was probably about a few minutes, the blonde man stood up and walked slowly, gracefully out of the bar, a blank look taking over his refined features.

I was the first to speak.

"Well, theory confirmed."

* * *

**Thanks for all the favs and follows, and thanks Teri for the awesome review, and it would be great to have some more of those! Reviews=inspiration, and without inspiration, there will be no story... :( Anyway, enjoy!**


	5. Chapter 5

For the next three days, Barney went completely off the grid. We texted him, called him, left a number of messages that must have been in the triple digits, and asked around for him at GNB. Nobody knew where he was, only that he had requested a short holiday.

It wasn't uncommon for him to disappear for a few days, a week tops, because of... well, _whatever_ it was he did for a living. But after what happened, we decided it was time. Finally, after a long, _long _wait, we would venture into the mysterious unknown that was Barney's apartment...

I was probably a lot more excited than I should have been.

We drove is silence, after having bribed Ranjit into taking us there; none of us actually _knew_ the address. That was a little sad, frankly.

At last, the cab stopped. We payed Ranjit and slowly got out; finding ourselves in front of a grey, very modern, high-end looking building, which seemed to suit Barney perfectly. Ranjit told us the apartment number, and drove off quicker than the speed limit would allow.

A torturously slow elevator ride, a few steps, and several skipped heart-beats later, we were at the door. In a terribly clichéd yet still unbelievably awesome moment, we linked hands, and I gently slid the key into the lock. Barney had left that key in my room a while back, and I thought it could one day come in handy, so I held onto it. Ecstatic that the day had finally come, I pushed open the door.

And boy, was I _not _surprised. This apartment _was _Barney. The dark shades of the rooms, the odd, expensive looking items placed in the strangest places- I swear I even saw a sword- modern, pricey furniture, lack of any personal items, a ghost-town of a kitchen... Everything about the place screamed 'I am single, alone, and like it that way.'

We made our way towards the bedroom, and part of me was still convinced that Barney would just be in bed, snoring away, some random chick curled up next to him. But the other, more logical and realistic part, was worried out of it's mind. Marshall cautiously opened the door, and we stepped inside; only to find a large, uncomfortably cold room and an empty bed, which looked like it hadn't been slept in for a while. I hung my head, frustrated and scared at the same time. Where would we find him _now_?

But then, just as we were about to turn around and walk back out, a shattering of glass, some sort of fizzing sound, and a pained yelp sounded from somewhere inside the room. We looked frantically around, but everything was still the same. I checked one of the closets, and Robin reached for the other. Mine was perfectly normal, save for a few items which I had never seen before and hope to never see again. But as Robin checked her's, her eyes widened and she beckoned wildly for us to come over. The three of us did so, as quietly as possible, and peeked around Robin's shoulder; at the end of a small room filled with only suits- figures- was a slightly opened door, which led to a completely different room full of, from what we could see, bubbling chemicals, numerous tubes, and vials filled with brilliantly colored liquids. It was eerily similar to the background in the blog entries.

Every once in a while, I noticed a flash of somebody's back, wearing what looked like a lab coat- but instead of the white one we had previously seen, this one was a deep, dark red, with black gloves. The difference was startling. I took a step forward, and turned to Marshall, Lily, and Robin, flashing them a 'come on' look. They grudgingly followed closely behind me, and we crept slowly up to the partly opened door. Just a few more inches...

I gave the door a light push, and it opened fully; revealing a tall, blonde man in a red lab coat, standing over a counter with his back to us, mixing chemicals, frantically scribbling down notes and formulas that looked beyond all four of us _combined, _piecing together what seemed like a gun from a few decades into the future.

As soon as I had the shock under control, I decided to ask for an explanation. _Great _idea, right?

"Barney, wha-" And that was as far as I got. Because moments after I had opened my mouth, the man turned around faster than lightning, and suddenly there was a very _big_, very _terrifying_ gun pointed millimeters away from my face. It was sleek and professional, and didn't look like anything I had ever seen before. I felt Robin stiffen behind me, and hoped with all my heart she wouldn't do anything stupid.

Doctor Horrible grinned, a sight that made my blood run cold.

"Hi, _guys_!"


	6. Chapter 6

Time seemed to slow down. I became aware of the little details around me; the random, shining patches of light dancing on the weapon directed at me, the faint smell of chemicals that enveloped the whole room, the barely audible fizzing sound that suggested something was burning through some surface or other...

And then there was Barney. Or rather somebody else _entirely,_ who had finally regained control of Barney's body. I couldn't tear my eyes away from his features- they seemed so familiar, yet startlingly different. The eyes were the same ice-blue, but for all I knew they could have belonged to a feral, four-legged predator; calculating and sharp, intent on only one thing- 'the hunt'. It was incredibly unnerving how unpredictable and untamed the look in those eyes was. The corners of his mouth were pulled back into a bloodcurdling smile, and my eyes were suddenly and painfully opened to just how stupid we had been. We poked the dragon. Huh- as many times as Barney had said those _exact _words to us, they never really held much meaning until now.

"Well, how _kind_ of you to pay me a visit!" Doctor Horrible drawled, his voice sickly sweet. "And here I was thinking you had forgotten about me..." He tilted his head to one side, pouting. Jesus, how he managed to be so intimidating in such odd circumstances was _way _beyond me. I mean, come on, this was _Barney._

I took a tiny step forward, raising my hands in a non-threatening gesture. "Look, Barney, we're-"

"_Ah_-ta-ta..." He interrupted, pushing the impossibly futuristic weapon right onto the skin between my eyes and advancing a few steps. I backed up frantically, vaguely aware of how warm the shiny metal felt on my flesh. Marshall, Lily, and Robin were forced to back up _with_ me, and I realized Robin had a death grip on my jacket.

Nobody moved for a while.

As we stood there, staring each other down, I wondered how we could have let Barney, _our _Barney, one of our _best_ _friends_, fall off the edge like this. I felt a monstrous amount of guilt clawing painfully at the inside of my stomach, and suddenly realized just how _horribly- _no pun intended-we had treated him in the past. It wasn't that we had _abused _him, no, if anything it was the other way around. But we hadn't ever _really_ been there for him, looking at him as more of a loyal puppy that followed us around than an actual, equal, friend. I remembered clearly now all the times I had corrected him when he'd called me his best friend, and the looks on his face afterwards. I remembered how we had found out that if it wasn't for him, Lily and Marshall would never have gotten married. I remembered how he was always there beside me after a bad break-up, practically _dragging _me back onto my feet. I remembered how he had saved Robin's job, her entire career, and made it possible for her to stay in the States. I remembered how, whenever we were feeling down, or bored, or lonely, he just popped up out of nowhere and manifested a night we would never forget. He never talked about our problems with us, because instead he _solved _them. Barney was always _there, _and we just thought it would be that way forever. We didn't notice the fact that he never talked about _his _problems, things that brought _him _down, why _he _wasn't really on his game tonight. We simply took him for granted, deciding that he just didn't _have _any problems, seeing as he only went on about the exciting, _good _stories. Never would we have thought that his past had been so... _this. _Never in a million years. And yet here we were, staring down the barrel of a most likely _lethal_, impossibly high-tech weapon Barney had _built, _after slipping back into the part of himself that stole, killed, had an IQ that_ actually_ classified as 'genius', and didn't answer to _anybody. _I couldn't stand to look Barney in the eyes anymore, and my gaze dropped to the ground.

Finally, after an eternity of waiting, Dr. Horrible spoke again.

"You want to know what's going on, I presume?" His tone was unemotional and superior, and held a sort of straight-and-to-the-point quality.

I nodded slowly, taking care not to provoke him in any way. Even considering the fact that this was your perfect, comic-book villain, _the _stereotypical 'bad guy', there was clearly some other, internal battle being fought here.

"Well, tough." He snapped, causing me to flinch. I felt a little ashamed- I mean really, I just flinched away in fear from a guy in a lab coat and goggles, with wiry muscles and a slight, lean build. But then again; that gun looked scary as hell.

"You see Teddy, as much as I'd _love_ to pace around the room, laying out the fine details of my plan as you silently swipe a weapon the moment my back is turned, and wait for you to use it just as I 'wrap up', this hardly seems like an ending _I _would enjoy."

With that, Dr. Horrible raised the gun to the ceiling, and gently squeezed the trigger. This resulted in a small chunk of roof landing with a thud between Marshall, Lily, Robin and I, making all four of us jump to the side. Dr. Horrible glided swiftly past us, slamming the door firmly behind him.

The breath caught it my throat as I heard the faint 'click' of a lock.

* * *

**Sorry if this wasn't a very exciting chapter, I've hit a mild writer's block... Remember: reviews=more updates! ****_Pwetty_**** please? **


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm sorry I haven't updated for a while, I wasn't really sure where to go from where I left of- but here's my best shot. Enjoy!**

* * *

It had been over an hour since the door had locked behind the man in the red lab coat, and we had given up on trying to pry it open. Attempts to call someone had failed instantly- something was blocking the signal. So now Lily, Marshall, Robin and I were simply wandering around the room-slash-lab, inspecting the numerous materials, chemicals, and other things which I'm not sure I could name. At the far side of the room, I discovered an honestly impressive collection of newspaper clippings, articles, headlines, and what looked like an actual 'wanted' poster- god, didn't even know those were still _used_- all with one thing in common; Doctor Horrible. I wasn't sure if I should be terrified, saddened, or impressed. It looked liked both Dr. Horrible _and _Barney liked to gloat; the whole thing reminded me of a sort of trophy-board.

"Hey guys, come have a look at this," I called, gesturing for them to come over.

Lily stifled a gasp as she looked over the wall-full of Barney's past endeavors, most of which were of a decidedly sinister nature. There were bank robberies, hostage situations, countless break-ins and thefts, blackmail, complex 'master plans', and even a few murders. And it looked like Dr. Horrible 'rein of power' wasn't limited to LA, but even extended to other _countries_- some of the articles were printed in languages I couldn't decipher. We all stood silently for a while, regarding with guilt and fear what we had so naively missed in our friend.

"I... wow, I don't even know what to say." Marshall was the first to speak.

"I know... how did we not see this?" Robin added, dumbfounded.

"Well, he didn't exactly make it very easy to find." I stated, shaking my head incredulously.

And I was right- the only time we had _ever_ heard Barney talk about his past was when he told us the story of Shannon; but now I wondered if there had been any truth in that. Yes, Barney Stinson was a master of lies, something we all knew but had never really experienced firsthand. Well, not that we knew of anyway.

Suddenly, interrupting my train of thought, there came a loud burst of sound from the small television hanging in the corner, close to ceiling. It was similar to those TVs you'd normally find in a clinic waiting room- out of reach, steel cage, and set permanently onto one channel. The four of us stepped back, so as to get a better view of the image. It turned out to be the news channel, and there seemed to be quite the buzz going on. The reporters, with their perfect hair and faces caked in makeup, were frantically announcing events as they happened. After a few minutes of straining my ears, I made out that there was a hostage scenario unravelling, in some bank or other. The volume was evidently set to a torturously low level, and Robin threw a beaker at the screen in frustration, causing it to shower us with shards of glass. We glared at her icily, and she flashed a sheepish smile in return. Oh well, I suppose it could have been worse. At least the beaker had been empty.

Although, to our collective surprise, Robin's little stunt had done the trick- well that, or the reporters had suddenly begun to shout- because the volume coming from the small television grew significantly. At the risk of feeling a little childish, we gave a group cheer.

"Now, as the tension grows, the unknown criminal remains on the tenth floor. NYPD officers have surrounded the building, with two helicopters on the scene. Communications with those inside have not yet been established, but specialists haven't stopped trying." The perky blonde reporter rambled on, eyes wide and unblinking. "Officials advise the public not to approach the building, inside which office workers are still being held hostage; our prayers go out to those inside of the GNB headquarters."

The reporter was replaced with what seemed to be live footage, and as I caught a glimpse of the 'unknown criminal,' my stomach gave an unpleasant tug.

There, managing to appear spectacularly menacing for a guy who looked like he had just stepped out of a comic book, was Doctor Horrible.

"Oh my god, I can't believe this!" Lily shrieked, mouth falling open. I stayed staring at the screen, unable to look away, slowly shaking my head. Sure enough, there was Barney- or at least he _looked _like Barney; I knew our friend was still inside there somewhere, and I was determined to get him out.

I tore my eyes away from the television, scanning the room for something, _anything_ that could help get us out. But at that very moment, something happened that relieved me of the task- the heavy door burst open with a loud 'bang,' causing all four of us to jump. This resulted in a small cloud of dust filling the room, and I barely made out a figure making it's way through the slowly settling cloud. As the room cleared, I quickly recognized the man- there, heading towards us, was none other than Moist!

"Come on, we've gotta go, there's no time!" He exclaimed, grabbing me by the arm with a soaking wet hand and shoving me roughly towards the door. He did the same with Lily, but when he reached for them, Robin and Marshall stepped away.

"What are you doing here?" Robin inquired. "And how did you get in?"

Moist frowned, clearly frustrated. "As I said, there's no time! I'll explain everything on the ride over, now come on!"

Robin and Marshall exchanged a quick glance, and swiftly followed Lily and me out into Barney's bedroom. The five of us practically _ran _down and out into the street, where I hailed a cab and we briskly got in. There was a momentary pause- I realized I had no idea what 'the plan' was, and looked questioningly at Moist. But _he _seemed to know what was going on, and barked an address at the driver, who hit the gas and sped us away.

A few minutes had passed, but my mind was still digesting what I had just heard- the fact that Moist had instructed the driver to take us straight to GNB.

* * *

**Well? Did ya like it? Remember- reviews are inspiration! Ideas are always welcome...**


End file.
